Alcohol And Analgesics

Aspirin is the active ingredient in many over-the-counter arthritis pain formulas and in numerous nonprescription combination headache-and-minor-pain products. The ability of aspirin to cause inflammation of the stomach, erosion of the GI tract, and GI bleeding is well recognized. Alcohol not only produces inflammation of the stomach but also increases the risk of GI bleeding caused by aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Bush, Sholtzhauer, andlmai, 1991). Elderly people at high risk for bleeding should avoid regular use either of alcohol or of aspirin. Chronic alcohol abuse can cause poisoning of the liver in a patient taking acetaminophen (Tylenol), probably because it leads to the production of enzymes which in turn lead to the formation of poisonous intermediary breakdown products of the Tylenol.

Thank you for deciding to learn more about the disorder, Osteoarthritis. Inside these pages, you will learn what it is, who is most at risk for developing it, what causes it, and some treatment plans to help those that do have it feel better. While there is no definitive “cure” for Osteoarthritis, there are ways in which individuals can improve their quality of life and change the discomfort level to one that can be tolerated on a daily basis.